A villa that has to be beautiful: Amiral in La Nucía

That was the thought Evgeny brought to me, together with his family. They wanted a home of their own on the Costa Blanca, and Evgeny had his own yardstick: high ceilings are what set a beautiful, stylish house apart from a merely good one. «If you are buying a villa in beautiful Spain, the villa has to be beautiful too».

Two eighty

We looked at villas one after another: pools, terraces, views, and in every one the ceiling was no higher than 2.80 metres. Each time Evgeny's spirits sank. In the end the family bought a different house: the Amiral development in La Nucía did not exist yet. Now it does, and I have walked through it with Evgeny's yardstick.

The road home

Calle Serra Gelada, a development between the mountains and the sea: above the rooftops rise the Ponoig and Puig Campana, and the villas look out over the bay of Benidorm or Altea. There are 24 villas, each with its own plot and its own pool.

School, supermarkets and doctors are 5-15 minutes away by car. La Nucía itself has Elian's British School, from nursery to the Spanish baccalaureate, and there are more international schools in Altea and l'Alfàs del Pi. And La Nucía lives for sport: the Camilo Cano sports city has 66 facilities, and the town has twice been named European Town of Sport. You will not have to drive the children to training in another town.

The gate

By the gate there is covered parking of your own for two, three or four cars, depending on the villa. In August the car stays in the shade and the steering wheel does not burn your hands. Next to it is a spot where e-bikes charge overnight.

The house has two levels. Upstairs are the living room with the kitchen, the first bedroom and a bathroom: the day is lived on one floor. Downstairs are two more bedrooms and two bathrooms. Parents upstairs, children or guests downstairs, and in the morning nobody wakes anybody.

Four and a half metres

In this house the first thing I did was look up, the way Evgeny would have.

The ceilings here are 4.5 m high. Not the two eighty we got used to on those viewings, but a metre seventy higher. Air above your head, the kind you just want to stand under. That «beautiful» was exactly what Evgeny was looking for.

If Amiral had existed back then, I think it would have won.

Then the glass door opens. One step onto the terrace, and in front of you is your own pool. Nobody has taken the sun lounger, no need to walk to a shared pool with a towel over your shoulder. The children are already at the edge, asking if they can jump in right now.

You will ask

You will ask: what if, over the years, stairs get harder, for you or your parents? Every villa has a shaft ready for a lift. When a lift is needed, it gets installed, and the house stays comfortable for many more years.

You will ask: and in winter? On a January morning you walk out of the bedroom barefoot and the floor is warm: underfloor heating is installed in every villa.

You will ask: and the sea? You do not walk to the beach from here. The beaches of Benidorm, Finestrat and Altea and the golf are 10-15 minutes away by car, Alicante airport about an hour. In return you get the quiet of the development, the mountains and your own plot with a pool. If you need the beach five minutes' walk away, I will tell you plainly at the viewing that this is not your house, and I will find you another one.

A Saturday in January

Now a different picture. Not the last day of the holiday, but an ordinary Saturday in January. The keys in your pocket are yours, and you do not have to give them back to anyone. The floor is warm, coffee on the terrace, a clear winter sky over the Puig Campana. The children are at training in the sports city and will be back for lunch.

You have not arrived at someone else's flat. You are home.

What is inside

The project is designed for homes with 3, 4 and 5 bedrooms. Villas with three bedrooms are on sale now.

Now let's do the numbers

The largest houses in the development sit in the lower part of the price list: villas with 155 m² of living space cost from 661 to 721 thousand euros, below the middle. If the metres matter more to you, I will show you those first.

Read alsofive villas with a private pool under 800,000 €

What you pay on top

List prices exclude taxes. A new build adds 10% VAT (IVA) and 1.4% stamp duty (AJD), plus notary and land registry fees. I will send you the full calculation for your villa.

How you pay

A reservation of 11,000 euros, 40% after the source-of-funds check and the signing of the contract, and the remaining 60% at the handover of the keys before a notary. Until the keys you pay less than half the price, and before you transfer that 40% I check the bank guarantee covering it: under Spanish law the developer is required to provide one.

What is nearby for the same money

There are three projects nearby: NWCIA Village, Vila Natura and La Nucía Pines.

Vila Natura is 66 thousand cheaper, but it has 106 m² of living space against 141-155 m² at Amiral: for the difference you get a third to a half more house.

Your yardstick

Evgeny had his own yardstick for a beautiful house. You have one too: a ceiling you want to stand under, the pool right outside the door, school and training nearby, or a warm floor in January. Write to me and tell me what yours is. I will send you the plan and the full calculation for the villa that fits it, and arrange a viewing. Your price is the same as the developer's, and why you are better off with me than without me I have explained separately.